Love Of My Life

13

"Sounds like a plan," Lucy beams. 

I tell her I'll text her after our date and we go our separate ways. Originally Lucy was supposed to come over and help me pick out an outfit, but apparently Rami asked her to 'hang out'. I find that suspicious. I think its more than just a hang out but who am I to judge? I'll find out tonight either or. 

The day goes by quickly up until the last couple minutes before Ben is supposed to get me. I settled on a black dress and black tights, with white heels. I also have my good jewelry on. Lucy approved the outfit after I sent a couple of pictures. I'm not good with dressing up and it took me forever to actually find a decent outfit. 

A knock on my door startles me. It's time.

I walk over, my heels clicking on the ground, and make sure to grab my purse with everything I need before I answer the door. I open it and there is Ben in a white button down shirt and black dress pants. 

"We match," I say, smiling at him.

"That we do," he tells me.

He outstretches his hand, which I take, and we walk to his car. He opens the passenger side door for me and I get in. 

The ride to the restaurant is short. We reach the place in a matter of minutes. 

"Reservation for Jones," Ben tells the hostess when we arrive. It's a cute restaurant. French I think. I appreciate the beauty of it. 

"Jones?" I ask Ben in a whisper. 

"My last name," he whispers back. Looks like we have a lot to talk about.

We are taken to our table which is in a secluded area of the restaurant. Probably so that nobody takes photos or causes a scene. 

"Hello, I'm Emily and I'll be your server for this evening," a blonde haired girl greets us. She looks to be around my age. "I'll bring out a couple of waters for you. And then this is on the house," She places a bottle of red wine down. "Is there anything else I can get you?"

Ben and I both shake our head and Emily tells us she will be back later to take our order.

"Can I?" Ben asks about the wine.

I nod and he pours us each a glass. I taste it and I must say it is better than anything I have ever tried.

"So Jones?" I ask.

"Well Jones is my real last name. I just go by Hardy as my stage name," 

"I didn't know that," 

"It rarely comes up. Sometimes I forget that people don't know that fact,"

I guess a stage name makes sense. Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars are examples of those with stage names. I guess theirs are a little more obvious than Ben's though.

I flip through the menu deciding what I should get. I decide on a chicken dish because it is the only thing I am familiar with. 

Ben and I make small talk until Emily comes back to take our orders. 

"I've never actually been to France," Ben tells me when Emily leaves again. "This restaurant is the closest I've gotten. Hopefully in the next year or so I can go,"

"It's beautiful. I recommend it," I say.

"You've been?"

"I went with Bri and Rog for one of their tours. I went as support,"

"Do you ever perform with them?" Ben asks after a moment of hesitation. "Only because..well..you know..."

I sigh and take a sip of my wine. "I've sung with them but only in front of them. Never in front of a crowd," I play with my fingers, unsure of what to do. "I've always been scared to, you know?"

"From stage fright?" Ben asks me. I shake my head.

"No, I don't have stage fright. That's a gift from my dad," I laugh. "I love performing. But being his daughter has limitations. Everyone is waiting my move and if I go up on stage it won't be Aria Mercury, it will be Freddie Mercury's daughter. I know I am, but the pressure is not worth it. It's a lot,"

"I get that," Ben says. "Or at least I'm trying to,"

"I appreciate it," I tell him. I've never really opened up about anything like this before unless it was to Brian or Roger. "I would like to think that when the time is right I'll sing in front of people,"

"Well I would love to listen when you're ready," Ben tells me. He gives me a smile. "So tell me about yourself. I only know a little but I want to know everything. Or at least what you'll tell me,"

"Well after dad died I moved in with Brian and he raised me. He's a second dad to me. Roger is my uncle basically," I laugh. "I was homeschooled but I went to college because I wanted a degree. Astrophysics," I cringe. "I did it for Brian,"

"That's interesting," Ben tells me, genuinely interested in what I have to say. 

"I did it so we could talk about space and all that. His son, Jimmy, and I decided one of us had to take one for the team because Brian loves to talk about space. So I decided I would do it," I say, thinking about those dramatic little talks Jimmy and I used to have. Brian just needed someone to understand what he was talking about so he didn't have to explain everything. It all worked out in the end. "Eventually I moved out into my dads mansion. That's where I live now. There was a big legal thing with it but I don't want to get in to that,"

"The mansion is beautiful," Ben says. "Almost as beautiful as you,"

My face heats up from the cheesy line. He grabs my hand and holds it from across the table.

The rest of the night is spent talking nonstop. I found out Ben grew up in Dorset and that he went to school for acting. He performed on East Enders but hated it. He hated flashing his skin, which I was shocked to learn because after he said that he proceeded to tell me how he did a full nude scene in a theater production once. 

Ben tells me how he loved working for X-Men and that it was so different from East Enders. However his favorite experience by far is Bohemian Rhapsody. I tell him how it is the only movie I have ever worked on this closely. Sometimes I work with music in films, but rarely. 

We end the night by him taking me back to my house. He walks me to my front door and I find myself wishing the night never had to end. 

"I had a great time," I say. We hover by the front door. 

"Me too," Ben tells me. "Would you like to go out again?"

I nod. "I think I would," 

Ben leans forward and gives me a kiss on the cheek. His lips linger ever so slightly before he pulls away and walks to his car. I open my front door and when I shut it I lean against it, thinking about tonight. 

I have feelings and I have them hard.